Strengthening Health Care Professionals' Collaborative Responses to Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence in...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Public Health
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Effective collaboration among healthcare professionals is vital for addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy.
• Existing IPV education for healthcare professionals lacks consistency and effectiveness, leading to confidence gaps in responding to disclosures.
• Interdisciplinary settings can exacerbate challenges due to poor cohesiveness, negatively impacting pregnant women needing support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, implement, and evaluate an evidence-informed, simulation-based, interprofessional education intervention.
• To improve healthcare professionals' collaborative response to IPV disclosures in the perinatal period.
• To address key priorities in ending violence against women and children.

Main Methods:

• An exploratory mixed methods research design was employed across three phases.
• Phase 1 involved qualitative data collection through interviews and focus groups to inform educational program development.
• Phase 3 utilized a single-group quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design for intervention evaluation.

Main Results:

• Qualitative data were gathered from women with lived experience of IPV and healthcare professionals.
• Quantitative survey data were collected in Phase 3 to assess the intervention's perceived impact.
• The study involved a minimum of 9 women with lived experience and at least 42 healthcare professionals.

Conclusions:

• The study provides insights into the effectiveness of educational interventions for enhancing interdisciplinary team collaboration.
• It highlights the importance of tailored education to improve responses to intimate partner violence in perinatal care.
• Findings aim to contribute to better support systems for pregnant women experiencing IPV.